Pair plan to skateboard across USA to raise funds for cancer cure

ROLLINSFORD — Two local volunteer firefighters are embarking on an ambitious cross-country journey on skateboards to help cure childhood cancer.

Kevin Muirhead, 20, and Scott Weinhold, 18, have charted a 3,500-mile path from California to New Hampshire. The pair will be stopping at cancer centers along the way and collecting charitable donations.

“We're going to want to talk to people and hear their stories. We want to stop and explore,” Weinhold noted.

Their goal is to reach $100,000 for childhood cancer; donations will be accepted once all forms are finalized with a Boston hospital.

The pair said the journey was a way to incorporate their passion for longboarding into a charitable mission.

“One day we said let's longboard across the country. Then we figured, why we would just do it when we could be help people out,” Muirhead said.

Muirhead and Weinhold's idea turned into a reality after the two launched a Facebook page that sparked public interest.

At the end of January, the pair posted a picture on Facebook in hopes of having at least 1 million people “like” it. They included a caption that read: “If we get 1,000,000 likes we will longboard across the country for childhood cancer.”

After receiving positive feedback, the pair recently decided to take the trip regardless of whether they meet their Facebook goal.

“We Google searched a walking path and that's simply how we decided how to get there,” said Muirhead, a Rollinsford native, who has been skateboarding since he was 8.

Weinhold, who took up skateboarding only two years ago, said he's looking forward to the opportunity to develop his skills on the road.

“It's certainly going to be practice,” he said.

The volunteer firefighters plan to have someone accompany them in an RV to allow them to rest comfortably.